Five Steps To Break Her Heart
by Summersetlights
Summary: When Imogen spots an upset Elijah Goldsworthy, she promises him five easy steps to get over Clare. But when each step passes, Eli can feel the plan backfiring…
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi **_

_**Imogen will not be a bitch in this story. I promise.**_

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><p>His eyes were glued on her. The way her hair fell over her crystal eyes made his stomach freeze and crumble. And he watched as her teeth sunk into her bottom lip in concentration. A smile spread across his love-struck face as her nimble fingers played with her curls. And he felt a bitter envy toward anyone next to her. He wanted to be the one next to her. He wanted to be the one whispering those words in her ear, making her blush and gasp. He wanted to breathe in her scent and hear her laugh. He wanted to make her smile and giggle and cry in wanted to hold her hand and calm her down when she would do her ritual freak out before a test.<p>

He just wanted to be with her.

But, just like everyday, Eli saw Jake Martin stride across the cafeteria. That cocky smile was spread wide across his cocky face and his backpack sat coolly on his left shoulder, while he had a tray of food in his left right hand. Eli watched in disgust as Jake moved in the crowd and made his way towards Clare. Eli watched as Jake's eyes lit up at the sight of Clare Edwards. And he almost felt bad for the boy, because Eli, from experience, knew that Jake would be in love with the girl for a log time. And whether or not she would follow him on that journey of love was unknown.

And Eli Goldsworthy truly felt bad for the jock. But that was until the sandy-haired boy swooped down and pulled Clare Edwards' hand up and kissed it gently. Eli watched as Clare shivered with excitement. Jake pulled her closer in a bone-shattering embrace and even from where Eli was standing, he could see Clare shiver with a brilliant excitement.

Not being able to take anymore, Eli walked as fast as he could with his leg and walked to the J.T Yorke memorial. He promised himself that he wouldn't think of what had just occured until he was sitting down. But, he could feel the feeling sink into him. The bitter feeling of defeat filled him as he limped and made his way throughout the hallway. The feeling that he had tried so hard to let go of and bury was now coming alive and eating him to the bone. The feeling spread like wildfire and he tried to ignore the tears that were forcing their way into his blood-shot eyes.

As soon as Eli sat down at the bench, he let the sobs fill his throat and spill over. He let the tears flow and spread, not caring if anyone saw, not caring if people laughed. He no longer cared about anything, and that scared the shit of him. The fact that he felt so much for a girl, but nothing for himself, made him sick.

Eli wiped the tears away and leaned his head back against the cold stone. The rock pressed into the back of his head and it almost felt good to the boy. It was a little reminder that as numb as he felt towards everything, he was still alive. And he could still feel pain. He groaned from the pain in his leg and closed his eyes. The weather was becoming nicer and the cast was killing him. It was thick and bulky. And underneath it, his skin itched like crazy. He'd sit in class and fidget with his leg, dying of the itch. And people would simply look at him as if he were nuts.

Except Clare.

She always gave him a bright smile.

Eli cried out like a wounded animal and cursed in bitter anger. He hated everything and the situation that he was in. He hated himself. He hated-loved-the beautiful girl.

"Shit!" A voice cried out from behind the memorial and a girl suddenly stumbled onto the ground. Her glasses flew off of her face and landed on the soft grass next to her.

Eli watched, confused out of his mind.

"...Were...were you watching me?" Eli squeaked out as the girl stood up, with her glasses placed crookedly on her face. The black-framed glasses made her look like an owl, her eyes were large and brown and Eli squinted his eyes at her.

"No. I was just observing, Elijah Goldsworthy-"

"-It's Eli-"

"-Well, I'm going to call you Elijah," She said this calmly and Eli felt the hair on his neck stand up. There was something off with the girl. But the owl-eyed girl didn't seem to notice his discomfort, and if she did, she didn't care, because she sat next to him on the bench and blinked her eyes at him, "I'm Imogen Moreno. Pleased to meet you, Elijah Goldsworthy." She threw out her hand and grabbed his in a strong grip.

"Hello." Eli grumbled, deciding that that was the only thing he could do to make her go away. He closed his eyes as a hint, but he still felt her eyes on him.

"You were looking at Clare Edwards," Eli's eyes snapped open at the sound of the name and glared at the girl. But Imogen was looking at the wall, trying to remember something, "Grade ten. Her best friend is Alli Bhandari. Her parents divorced a couple of months ago and during that time, you claimed to be her rock. Am I right?"

With that, Eli stood up. His body was shaking and he pointed his finger at the girl. She just stared at him, her expression calm and serene, with a smug smile sitting on her lips.

"You-you. Have you been stalking her?" Eli finally sputtered out, trying to make his mouth catch up with his mind. He gripped his cane tightly, trying to steady himself, "Go away. You're scaring me." But when she didn't move, Eli started to limp away, but a strong hand caught him.

"Wait. I haven't been stalking her or you. I just know these things," And a smirk took over her lips as Eli scoffed, "I see how you look at her. I see how your eyes glaze over with want when you see her. I know that you can't think straight without her. I know, Elijah Goldsworthy. I know how much you love her."

Eli scoffed again, but that was all he did. He was actually interested in what she was saying. Imogen narrowed her eyes at his silence and continued.

"And I just don't understand how you can be so in love with someone who hurt you."

At that, Eli walked away again, his leg spreading pain throughout his body. Or maybe that was just his broken heart. "You don't know anything. You don't know me. You don't know Clare. You don't know my feelings. Stay away from me and leave me alone."

"Fine. But I know a way to get over her." Imogen called after him, her tone high and sing-singy, knowing that he'd turn around in a flash. And when the boy did, she sat up smugly, her posture straight and taunting.

"Really?" He scoffed, "Because I'm pretty sure that I tried everything." Eli smirked, but hung his head to hide the pain circling and clinging onto every feature of his face. Imogen walked closer to him and lifted up his limp head and smiled at him, her eyes blinking largely at him.

"You have to break her heart."

"…What?" Eli stepped back in confusion, his cane scraping sharply on the floor and only he winced.

Imogen nodded in enthusiasm and sighed dreamily. "You have to break her heart. You have to show her what she did to you. You have to make her feel the pain that she caused you, Elijah Goldsworthy. And when she falls in love with you again, you'll go to her, and," She crept closer to him, "SNAP! You'll break her heart." Imogen laughed at his startled expression.

Eli stayed very still and looked down at his shoes. He knew what was right. And he knew what was wrong. He felt the devil and the angel arguing on his shoulders and he was pretty sure that he knew who would win the fight.

"That will work?" Eli asked finally, just wanting to be over her. Just wanting to forget the touch of her skin and the taste of her lips and the way she-

"Of course! But, you need the five steps to do just that. And, with my help, you'll be over her in no time." Imogen skipped over to the bench and sat down, her arms behind her head casually. She crossed her legs and watched him ponder the idea.

"What are the steps?" Eli walked over to where she was sitting, and looked at her intensely.

"I can't tell you unless you promise me that you won't back out." Imogen muttered, her eyes closing. Eli wanted to shake her to wake her up.

"But-"

"No, Elijah Goldsworthy. You're either in or out. Pick one. Only one."

Eli licked his dry lips and closed his eyes. He knew that the idea that she proposed was shady and not right, and it might even be dangerous to even do. But, all Eli could think about is getting over her. He thought about how nice it would be to wake up and ot think of her. And to go to bed without the hole in his chest. Clearing his throat, he knew it was time to give her his answer, "Um...yes. Er...I'm in." Eli scratched his head and winced at what he just did.

But Imogen's eyes flew open in delight. "Lovely!" She stood up abruptly and began to walk away, leaving Eli to watch after her in disbelief. He stood up too, ignoring the pain in his leg, and limped after her. "What are you doing? Imogen! What is the first step?"

Imogen turned around, an impish smile on her face. "Meet me by the English wing right before lunch, because right now, ...I have to take care of something." And she skipped away. Her pigtails seemed like an omen to Eli.

And as he watched her, he didn't know why he felt the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

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><p><strong><em>This is NOT going to be a dark fic. It's going to be about...6 or 7 chapters. And I will also continue with my other unfinished stories :)<em>**

**_Review, please?_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi. _**

**_Is this going to be an Imogeli story? Haahahahaha._**

**_No. ;)_**

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><p>"Step one," She paused, her glasses sliding down the slope of her nose. Eli shivered at the way her eyes narrowed and they reminded him of snake eyes; cunning and clever, and slightly dangerous. Imogen continued to stare him straight in the eyes, her expression unreadable. Eli gulped, a shiver of something that he wasn't familiar with went down his stiff spine. He cleared his throat.<p>

"What's step one?" Eli croaked out, his voice scratchy and raw. He licked his dry lips and watched anxiously as Imogen smiled and crossed her legs slowly.

"Ease her in," She muttered and Eli had to lean in to hear her, "Show her that you're still the guy that she fell in love with. Make her see that she is, how do you say, still the girl with...pretty eyes," She shifted and watched Eli lean back uncomfortably, "You need to crush any doubts from her. You need to show her that you are "changed", okay? You have to be the guy that stole her breath away."

Eli nodded and let out the breath that he had been holding. He squinted his eyes and focused blankly on the row of lockers. The step seemed innocent enough, but he had a inkling feeling that each step was going to get...darker.

"And how do I do that?" Eli pressed, this time, he was the one looking her straight in the eyes. Imogen seemed thrilled with his questions and smirked the smirk that she stole from him.

"Well, you need to go to your English teacher...what's her name...Ms. Dawes?"

Eli breathed deeply. His heart was beating faster and harder than he would have liked to admit. His palms were sweating and Imogen moved behind him, continuing to whisper instructions in his ear. He nodded gently at the end of every phrase she murmured. The plan was evil and manipulative and...

Genius.

"She's been divorced twice, she loves to see a romance. She likes to think of herself as a match-maker. When you state your idea, show sensitivity and show pain and sorrow," Her warm breath on his ear made Eli feel uncomfortable, but he listened intently to everything she said, "And if you do this, Elijah Goldsworthy, she'll be putty in your hands. I promise you."

Eli leaned against the lockers and shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't do this-"

"No! You have to!" Imogen's eyes widened and she stepped closer to him, "I mean, um...how else are you going to get over Clare? How else are you going to get over your Sylvia Plath?" A smug smile took over her purple lips and she knew that she had the boy wrapped around her finger.

Eli nodded enthusiastically, his eyes bright with a light that probably wasn't considered healthy, "Yeah! You're right! I have to forget this girl." Eli muttered and let out one last breath before stepping into his English classroom.

It was ten minutes into the lunch hour, and Ms. Dawes had a turkey sandwich and a salad in front of her. Normally, most teachers sat in their classrooms together and gossiped about their students, but Ms. Dawes was a bit of a loner at Degrassi. She sat alone, ate alone, talked to herself, and most teachers thought of her as weird.

And Eli was sure that that was the reason why he liked her so much. He understood.

"Ahem." Eli limped closer to her and he let out a sigh of relief when she glanced up and smiled.

"Mr. Goldsworthy! What can I go for you?" She set down her fork and placed her hands underneath her chain, staring at him intently. Eli tried not to look away. But he could almost swear that she knew exactly what he was doing...

_Stop it, Eli. You're being paranoid_, Eli thought. And he limped closer to the desk.

"I have a favor," Eli started, thinking of what Imogen had said, "And I would totally understand if you didn't do this. It would be cool. I just thought that I'd ask you, because I know that you'd give it a chance."

Ms. Dawes studied him and narrowed her eyes, which told him that she wasn't convinced yet, "Go on, Mr. Goldsworthy."

Eli nodded and remembered what Imogen had muttered to him.

_"Manipulation is key, Elijah Goldsworthy. It'll get you your way with your teacher. Don't screw it up."_

He shivered and he could almost feel her breath on the back of his neck, "I'd like to be paired up with Clare for a project. I screwed things up with her and I just want to be able to talk to her and work with her on something. I want to set things right and show her how much I care. And once again, if you don't like this idea, that's totally okay. I just thought that if anyone could help me, you could." Eli tried to smile sincerely, but he knew that she could see the cracks in the false truth.

"You know," Ms. Dawes paused and ruffled through the papers on her desk. Once she found the paper she wanted, she licked her finger once, and pulled it up, squinting at it, "I was going to do this project...but, I was going to pick different partners."

Eli nodded in defeat and hung his head, sensing the slight change in her tone. "Okay. And, thanks. For not turning me down in the beginning. Not many teachers would have done that, so, thank you." Eli offered a light smile and slowly started to limp away. He tried to milk his limps and he let out a large sigh with every step he took.

"Mr. Goldsworthy, if you do not stop breathing like that, I'm going to have to call the nurse. And if you do not want me to do that, I would suggest that you come back here and sit down."

Eli smirked once, and turned around towards Ms. Dawes, a genuine smile coating his lips. He limped faster than before and sat in the desk in front of her and waited for her to share her thoughts.

"I'll do this, but," Ms. Dawes watched him, as if deciding something, "But don't do anything that you'll regret, okay?"

Eli felt his stomach drop and his heart squeeze. She knew. She knew that everything he was saying was bullshit. Eli bit his lip and returned her intense gaze. He straightened up his posture and stood up, his hand gripping on tightly to his cane. So tightly that his knuckles were white and numb.

"I would never, Ms. Dawes. I would never."

.

.

.

Eli sat smugly at his desk. He was the first one in the classroom and he tried to imagine what the project was on. A smirk was placed casually on his lips. That was his trademark with Clare. That was one of the things that she fell in love with. Eli had also grabbed a sharpie and colored his nails black. He slumped casually in his seat and yawned. He had a good feeling.

No. He had a great feeling.

He was putting his trust in Imogen, and he was hoping that she was pointing him in the right direction. He hoped that she was right and that he'd get over her.

Suddenly, he smelled sweet lavender. It taunted him and he closed eyes, his once confident attitude was draining and he felt his heart stutter. Eli wasn't completely sure if he was ready anymore. The chair behind him squeaked as Clare pulled it out to sit. He closed his eyes even tighter than before and bit his lip, trying to prepare himself.

_You can do it, Eli. You can do it._

Eli opened up his blood-shot eyes and let out a breath of stale air. He grabbed the sharpie off of his desk and started coloring his thumb nail. He heard a faint sniff from behind him and he held back a chuckle.

Because he was so oblivious to anyone but Clare, he hadn't noticed that all of the student were properly seated and were turned to look at him. He didn't feel their stares or whispers. He continued to scribble on his thumb and tried to block out the smell that made his stomach swirl with an excitement that he hated.

"Eli." He heard the girl behind him whisper his name, and shivers of pleasure spread down his spine. He turned around, a big smirk planted on his lips, and raised his eyebrows at Clare.

"Yes?"

Clare nodded towards the front of the classroom and Eli's eyes furrowed together, but he turned to where she pointed. Up front of the room, was a slightly amused Ms. Dawes. She raised her eyebrows at Eli and he felt his neck grow warm, and he slumped in his seat, ignoring the stares of everyone.

"I would suggest that you paid attention, Mr. Goldsworthy. Just a thought." Ms. Dawes offered a small smile and Eli rolled his eyes, giving evil eyes to every student who looked at him like he had five heads.

"Now, class. I would like to share with you a little project that I've been working on. You'll be with the same people that you were with in the beginning of the year, and I'll give you two emotions. You will each write a paper describing how those two emotions are intertwined. I want this project to broaden your minds!...This will be due...in...a month? I would like this to be thought about and worked on. I'm giving you more than enough time to do this, and I expect you to spend time working on it, and not just scribble crap on it the night before, alright?" When the class grumbled back, Ms. Dawes smiled and went through each pair and gave them two emotions.

And when Ms. Dawes got to Eli and Clare, she smiled and narrowed her eyes at Eli, and he knew that she knew everything. Sure, she didn't know everything in detail, but she knew enough to know that what he was doing wasn't innocent.

"Eli and Clare. You're emotions are love and pain. Have fun.".

Eli's eyes widened and he heard Clare shift from behind him.

Fun? Oh, Eli was sure that he would. Very sure.

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><p><em><strong>Haha ;)<strong>_

**_Sorry for the abundance of updates. Next week, on the 10th is my birthday and I'm not going to be able to update a lot next week. So. Yes._**

_**Review, please?**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi. 3_**

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><p>She stood in front of him, her expression calculating. Her lips were pulled into a concentrated pout and she fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. Eli stood still, letting her fix the loose ends of his outfit.<p>

Her breath smelled like grape and the smell made Eli wish desperately for the lavender perfume that clung to every single piece of clothing that he owned. Eli shook his head to get that thought out of his mind, and Imogen looked at him, and he could have sworn that she knew what he was thinking.

Eli frowned and cocked his head to the side and tried to not focus on the girl snapping her gum in front of him.

"Okay, Elijah Goldsworthy, you've done great so far. Ms. Dawes was easily bought. So, now," Imogen offered him a piece of her grape gum, but he declined politely. Well, as politely as he could when she was trying to shove it down his throat, "Now, you have to buy Clare into your little game. And this'll be easy. Girls like her; innocent, fall easily into the bad boy type. And the mysterious type, like how you were when you first got here, Elijah Goldsworthy."

"It's Eli...and how did you know what I was like when I first got here?" Eli pulled away from her gently and tried to relax in the adjustments that she had just made.

Imogen just smacked her gum against the top of her mouth and her large eyes blinked at him, simply staring. And Eli looked uncomfortably to the ground and shook his bangs out in front of him. He didn't mind Imogen, but there were times when she made him feel on edge.

"Are you ready, Elijah Goldsworthy?" She asked, and Eli didn't feel the need to try to correct her again. He was about to open his mouth to answer, but she had already pushed him into the busy hallway and steered him towards Clare's locker. His leg pumped and pulsed with pain.

Her locker was wide open and her body was almost fully in it. She didn't notice that her ex-boyfriend who was trying to break her heart was standing there. Right next to her. And Clare Edwards continued to reach for book after book in her cramped but neat locker. Eli stood there awkwardly, trying to remember how he acted in the beginning of the year. It had been so long, and the girl that was next to him had broken down so many of his walls, that he didn't even know who he was.

_Are you really having an identity crisis now? Now? Of all times?_ Eli thought to himself and groaned silently, telling himself to shut up and just act mysterious for the love of god. And he leaned one of his arms on the locker next to hers, so that he was leaning over. He had tried to raise his foot against the locker, going for the classic bad boy look, but he had remembered that if he did do that, he would fall over. And that didn't really seem too appealing to him.

And when Clare slammed her locker, a yelp echoed throughout the hallway and the locker flung back open. Clare ignored everyone's stares and looked behind her locker door and saw Elijah Goldsworthy holding his two fingers, a grimace on his face. But when he saw that she was looking at him, he let his smirk grace his lips.

"Edwards." Eli greeted, dropping his throbbing hand and ignored the pulse that he somehow felt.

"Eli, oh my god. I am so sorry. I didn't know that you were there, and I'm so sorry! Do you need ice? Do you need anything? Is there anything that I can do?" Clare fretted, and she picked up his feeble hand and ran her nimble fingers on his bruised ones.

"You can do one thing," Eli hinted and his smirk became more pronounced, and Clare looked up, "You could kiss them. I think that I'll heal faster if you do."

And with that, Clare dropped his hand and blushed, but a shy smile fell over her lips, "I think that you're doing fine, Goldsworthy." She added her classic "Clare" eye roll.

"Harsh."

"I try."

Silence fell over the two and they stared back at each other in subtle shyness. Finally, Eli sighed and looked at the clock on the wall, "Well, Edwards. I would really like to get that project done, do you want to go to The Dot? Maybe tomorrow?"

Clare smiled lightly and said, "It's a date." And she walked away, leaving Eli to cheer silently to himself.

Well, not exactly to himself. He knew that Imogen was cheering too.

.

.

.

Elijah Goldsworthy waited for Clare to go into The Dot before he went in. He didn't want to make it seem like he had been waiting desperately for her to come, even though he had. But she didn't need to know that. When she had picked a seat, Eli decided that that was his cue to go in, and he pushed open the door with as much authority he could muster with his broken leg, and he limped to the table with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He offered her a smirk when she glanced up and she smiled cutely at him.

"So." Clare started, her voice trailing off.

"So." Eli mocked, the sarcastic humor greeting him like an old friend. And Clare giggled lightly.

"Love and pain." Clare muttered, shaking her head, and she taped her pen against her blank paper. Eli pulled out a pen and paper of his own and swunted his eyes out the window, trying to concentrate.

"She really knows how to lay it on thick, doesn't she." He muttered and Clare chuckled her agreement.

"Well, what could we do? Maybe we could show that to experience love, you also need to experience pain. Like, I don't know," Clare sighed and ran her fingers through her curly hair, "Maybe, we could write how you don't know true love, unless you know true pain."

Eli felt a shiver go down his back and he leaned forward, his eyes intense and sharp, "And we could show how love and pain can both make people stronger, but can also take them the opposite direction and twist and turn them to fates that they've never imagined."

Clare breathed out, her eyes bright. "Of course. People forget how close these feelings are. They are often always together and mixed in with each other. I think that I'd even say that they always come together. They are a packaged deal. Except," Clare narrowed her eyes and leaned her chin on her hands, "Can pain come without love?"

Eli bit his lip and twisted his lips together in thought. "With true pain it does." He answered finally, licking his lips in thought.

Clare raised her eyebrows, her being perking up, "Elaborate, will you?"

"You only truly get hurt when someone you love hurts you. If someone you couldn't give a damn about hurt you, it wouldn't mean anything. It's a cut that will heal and fade away. But when you have someone that you love, and they hurt you, that's true pain," Eli sighed and ran his fingers through his thick dark hair, "So yes, love does come with pain."

I peaceful silence fell over the two and they both looked in different directions, their thoughts somewhere else.

"You know," Clare broke the silence, "When I talk to you, I feel...thoughtful. Like, I've just watched PBS."

Eli let out a bark of laughter and slapped his hand over his mouth, but the damage was already done, and Clare was laughing with him. They giggled together, their laughter was soft at first, but it turned into something louder. They held their stomachs and tried not to have their bodies shake so hard. Eli slammed his hand on the table, which startled Clare, and that only made them laugh louder.

"God, Edwards, you're the only one that can make me laugh like this." Eli finally spit out, wiping away the tear that was spilling from his eye.

Clare smiled at his, her white teeth blinding him, "Same to you, Goldsworthy. Same to you."

They smiled once more at each other and returned back to their papers. But they still shared secret glances every now and then.

And Eli felt something growing in his stomach. And it sure wasn't the satisfaction of revenge.

.

.

.

As Eli walked home, he pondered his afternoon and thought about Clare Edwards. He thought about how wonderful she looked and how pink her lips were and how much he wanted to-

He shook his head, trying to knock out any thought of the girl.

He couldn't fall in love with her again. I mean, he was still in love with her, but he couldn't fall even more in love with her. That would just be hell.

"Hello, Elijah Goldsworthy," A cool, but dreamy voice spoke from behind him, and because he was so used to her sneaking up on him, he wasn't startled. And he was about to tell her what happened, but she pressed her finger to his lips and whispered, "I know. You're going to meet up with her tomorrow and the day after that to work on your project."

"How do you-?"

"I have my ways." She spoke clearly, and Eli knew enough to not question it. And before Eli could say anything else, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek and skipped off.

And he watched her pigtails bounce, still thinking of them as a bad omen.

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><p><strong><em>;)<em>**

**_Review, please?_**

**_Any questions? Just ask!_**

**_jknkljshskh... The episode tonight guys. ECLARE FUCKING LIVES. OKAY. THEY ARE ENDGAME._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi! _**

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><p>Eli zipped up his thick, leather jacket and looked at himself in his full-length mirror, with his phone pressed against his shoulder and ear. The girl spoke steadily and slow on the phone, much like she did in person.<p>

"-And everything is going to plan. You've hung out with Clare for four days this week, and I'm sure that she doesn't have doubts anymore. And she's meeting you at your house today, right? And then you're going to the park. Which means, it's time for step two," Eli heard rustling from the other side and the phone and silence. He watched his expression change in the mirror as he waited. He never realized how confused he looked when talking to her, "Step two...Are you listening, Elijah Goldsworthy?"

"Um...yes. Er...step two, right?"

"Yes."

Eli waited silently for Imogen to finish her sentence, but when she didn't, Eli cleared his throat in hopes of making her talk.

"Step two," She said finally, "You need to..."Care" for her. Show her that you're "there" for her. Comfort her; make her vulnerable. But, the point of this step is to make her weak, Elijah Goldsworthy. Make her melt into the palm of your hands."

"How exactly do I do that?" Eli asked, pulling his belt tighter around his slim waist.

"I don't know," Imogen admitted, "Just make sure that you're not the cause of it. Don't make her cry because of you. That will ruin everything. Hm. Maybe she'll cry if she's reminded of her parents? Or her sister in Kenya? Darcy, is it?" She clucked her tongue in thought and Eli froze and gripped his phone in his hand

Eli scratched the back of his neck and stopped chewing the grape gum that she had shoved down his throat. "Um. How do you know about Darcy?"

Silence filled the air and Eli sighed, knowing that he wouldn't get any answers from her. "Look, I'm going to finish getting ready, but I'll think of ways for showing her that I "care", okay?" His finger was already on the end button and he just waited for her parting words.

"Goodbye, Elijah Goldsworthy." And with a click, she hung up.

In slight awe, Eli hung up after a few second and ran his fingers through his hair. Once again, he liked Imogen. She was odd and different and he never really knew who she was. And while part of him didn't like that, another part of him did. She definitely freaked him out in the beginning, but now, her oddness amused him. Imogen wasn't honestly like anyone that he'd ever met. She was nice, but she had that evil side that had the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Eli looked back into the mirror, glad that he no longer had to wear a cast and sport a cane everywhere. And just when he was about to fix the collar on his black jacket, he heard loud laughing coming from downstairs. He ignored Bullfrog's booming laughs and rolled his eyes. But then, when he heard the light and airy laugh, he stopped and he was a deer in headlights. He licked his lips and stayed still, his ears wide open.

"Hey, Eli!" Eli heard Bullfrog yell from the bottom of the stairs and silence soon followed after it. Eli wasn't ready. He squinted his eyes and bit his lip, trying not to freak out too much, "Eli! Get your white ass down here!" And silence followed once again, and Eli heard Bullfrog mutter to Clare that his son was a bastard.

Bullfrog stomped up the stairs and before Eli could say anything, his father was already in his room.

"Oh, Clare!" He wasn't working on his essay! He was checking himself out in the mirror!" Eli glared at his father, and a giggle was heard from downstairs. Eli held up one finger, signaling that he needed one more minute and Bullfrog nodded once, "He'll be right down, Clare! He's applying his eye-liner!"

Eli huffed, and walked to his dresser. He picked through his sheets of rough drafts for his essay, and ignored his father, who was still staring at him from the doorway.

"How did you get her over?" Bullfrog asked, his tone low and soft, trying not to upset his son, "The last time we saw her...was...well, you know. What did you do to...?"

Eli shrugged and stacked the papers into his bag neatly and threw his backpack over his shoulder. "Oh, of course. Clare needs a reason to come over here. Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, she chose to come over? Or is that just too hard to imagine with a screw-up like me?" Eli walked forward, his head down and his shoulders slumped. He tried to push through Bullfrog, but his father was stronger than him.

"Did I say that?" Bullfrog said, his arms folded across his chest. He stared down at his son intently, "Look, you're just keeping me in the dark. The last time I knew, you were in the hospital and you two were done. You haven't let me in since that. Forgive me for not understanding what you don't tell me."

Eli sighed, his shoulders rising and falling dramatically. He shook his dark hair out of his eyes, "Sorry." He offered softly, unsure of what else to say.

Bullfrog nodded and looked over his shoulder with a soft smile on his face. "You know, I missed Clare." He said matter-of-factly, and then his face became older and wrinkled, making Eli's heart drop, "I miss how happy you were."

Eli looked down, trying to ignore the tears swimming in the air.

"Me too. More than you know."

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><p><strong><em>I'm so sorry for the length! I wrote the last part of this...but my computer crashed. So, this is part 1 of this chapter.<em>**

**_Review, please?_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_I don't own Degrassi_**

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><p>"Just try it."<p>

"No. God, no. That's just disgusting."

"It won't kill you! The white part tastes good alone!"

"That should be illegal."

"Just trust me..."

"But I don't want to."

And even though Elijah Goldsworthy didn't want to take apart the Oreo, he slowly did so with his face in a grimace. He sighed when the two parts were finally separated. Taking the tip of his tongue, Eli slowly licked up the white, sugary cream on the one half on the chocolate part. But when his pink muscle touched the cream, he recoiled and shivered.

"Eli, it's a cookie. I'm not forcing you to drink poison." Clare laughed and poked fun at his discomfort.

"Easy for you to say," Eli snapped and smirked, taking a whole cookie out of the crinkly, plastic case, "Eat the whole thing, Edwards. Tell me how it feels. Tell me if it feels like your childhood is being stripped away with every passing second and if it feels like-"

"Done."

Eli closed his yapping mouth and looked at Clare as she chewed the whole cookie with ease. He curled his lip in disgust and she just chewed the cookie with smug amusement.

"...We should finish our essays, Edwards." Eli muttered, and she just cackled and pointed her finger at him.

"Sure, get back to work after I proved you wrong-"

"No!"

"Yes."

"I'm just saying that because you have to leave...now, actually, and all we've done it eat Oreos," Eli shook his head in mock disappointment, "We're slackers, Clare."

"We're becoming the kids that our parents warned about." Clare mocked back, adding a smirk onto Eli's features, "But you're right, I do have to go. Would you like to get together tomorrow? Or...it's okay if not...if you have plans already..."

"No!" Eli almost yelped and Clare smiled shyly, "I mean, tomorrow is totally cool...meet me here...same time?"

Clare nodded and started to pack up her bag. When she was done, Eli sighed with satisfaction. He had missed their old ways, their old conversations, and honestly, he had just missed Clare. He loved how she almost always proved him wrong. And he felt a cheesy smile fall into place on his lips, but he quickly made it fade away, because he knew that the smile was just the start...

While packing his stuff up, he picked up the piece of paper that he had thought was his essay, but when he saw that his name wasn't on top, he knew that he had to bring it to the girl.

Immediately.

.

.

.

His heart was trying to fly out of his chest as he rang the doorbell. The annoying and generic ring echoed in his ears and he shivered at the memories that it brought back. After ringing the bell for a second time, he leaned closer to the door and began to make out the yelling from the other side. He recognized Clare's voice and her mother's, but Eli couldn't pinpoint the other two. Though, they were both men and just when Eli was going to back away to pretend that he was never there, the door flew open to reveal an angry looking Jake Martin.

"God, it's you again." Jake sighed and Eli began to retort, but before he did, Clare popped up from behind Jake's shoulder.

"Eli! What are you doing here?" Clare asked with a fake smile on her face, obviously trying to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. Eli felt his heart twang and he handed her the essay.

"Instead of taking your essay, you took mine, and I knew that you'd probably be freaking out by this time...so, I brought it over..."

"Well, I didn't notice, but you know me too well. You should have given it a while and I would have been throwing a fit."

"I'm intrigued, Edwards!"

As you should be, Golds-"

"Actually," Jake coughed out, and Eli almost jumped because he had completely forgotten that Jake was there. But when Eli looked up at Jake, his stomach growled in distaste. Jake's mouth was pulled into an evil smirk, "You can't call her Edwards anymore...she'll be a Martin in a couple of months."

Eli's quirked his eyebrow up in confusion and his stomach went cold. ...Were Clare and Jake...getting married? And Eli glanced at Clare, who was glaring at Jake with anger, but if you looked deeper, you could see the bitter pain that picked at her eyes.

"Let's go, Eli." Clare murmured and took his hand, letting her essay drop to the ground.

Eli simply followed, because in the back of his mind, he noticed her vulnerability.

And he could hear Imogen's voice run through his brain.

_ "You need to..."Care" for her. Show her that you're "there" for her. Comfort her; make her vulnerable. But, the point of this step is to make her weak, Elijah Goldsworthy. Make her melt into the palm of your hands."_

This was his chance.

.

.

.

They stayed silent for a while, just letting the wind whistle fondle their hair and clothes. Eli wanted to desperately ask why tears were flowing down her cheek and making its way onto the pavement. He wanted to pull her close and take away every single bruise that had found home on her soft skin. He wanted to hush away the pain and tell her that it was going to be okay.

"My mom and Jake's dad is getting married."

At first, Eli was just surprised that she had spoken, but then, her words sunk in. Her words danced around his mind mockingly and he watched Clare hug her knees to her chest.

"My mom and dad just got a divorce, and here she is, getting married! To...Glen! Who marries a guy named Glen, anyway? It's such an awkward name. 'Hey, Glen, how's it going?' 'Oh, Glen, thanks for fixing the sink.' 'Have a good day at work, Glen!'" Clare rambled and waved her hands around, trying not to let the tears escape.

"It'll work out, Clare." Eli murmured, not sure of what else to say.

Clare scoffed, and shook her curls out of her face. "Yeah, but when? People tell me that, but when?"

"Someday," Eli muttered softly, but when Clare made a noise in the back of her throat, he put his hands up, "I know that it's vague, but no one knows. No one knows when things are going to change for the best, but when it does, everything will be...clearer. I swear, Edwards. Everything will be okay someday. Just give it time."

Clare nodded, but her head drooped down and her shoulders began to shake. Her head fell into he hands. "I just...I miss my dad. But I hate him for cheating on my mom and I just want them to be happy, but when they are, I'm not. I just don't know what to do." She sniffed, letting her sobs out with each passing moment. And Eli finally decided enough was enough, and he pulled the sobbing girl into his arms.

But even as he held her, Imogen's words still ran through his mind.

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><p><strong><em>Is this shitty? Yes. I just feel so bad for not updating, so I promise that the next chapters will be much better!<em>**

**_Review, please? It would be lovely if you could!_**


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